By: Michelle M. De Oliveira, Esq.

On February 28, 2022, the Commonwealth announced that required employer-provided leave under An Act Providing for Massachusetts COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave will end, effective March 15, 2022.[1] Until then, employers must continue to provide paid sick leave (up to $850 per week) to eligible employees for qualifying reasons relating to COVID-19. For leaves taken between May 28, 2021 and March 15, 2022, employers may continue to seek reimbursement, and applications for reimbursement must be submitted by April 29, 2022.

Qualifying reasons for leave include:

An employee’s need to:

  1. Self-isolate and care for oneself because of the employee’s COVID-19 diagnosis;
  2. Get a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms; or
  3. Get or recover from a COVID-19 vaccine.

An employee’s need to care for a family member who:

  1. Is self-isolating due to a COVID-19 diagnosis;
  2. Needs a medical diagnosis, care, or treatment for COVID-19 symptoms; or
  3. Is subject to a quarantine order or similar determination by a local, state, or federal public official, a health authority, the family member’s employer, or a health care provider, regardless of whether the family member has been diagnosed with COVID-19; or
  4. Is getting or recovering from a COVID-19 vaccine.

The law was originally passed on May 28, 2021, and on September 29, 2021, Governor Charlie Baker approved an extension and increase in program funding. The law was set to remain in effect until April 1, 2022, or until exhaustion of $100 million in program funds, whichever came first. Following the Commonwealth’s recent announcement, the law is coming to an end on March 15, 2022.

For additional information regarding the COVID-19 Massachusetts Emergency Paid Sick Leave law, please see K&S’s prior alerts here: New Development for Massachusetts Employers: COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Covid-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Extended Through April 1, 2022. 

We will continue to monitor legal employment-related developments to provide information and guidance. Employers with specific questions are encouraged to speak with one of our employment attorneys.

[1] https://www.mass.gov/alerts/the-covid-19-temporary-emergency-paid-sick-leave-program-is-ending-march-15-2022#2144016)

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